252 FACULTIES OF BIRDS. 



large circle, a disposition which probably arose from 

 their number being so great that they could not 

 conveniently fly at random. Their mingled screams 

 were blended into one harsh mass of sound, in 

 which the cry of individuals could not be distin- 

 guished. The noise and bustle reminded us of some 

 great city, and the prodigious number could be 

 compared to nothing but the shoals of some species 

 of iish. Some were fishing on the smooth sea 

 around the island, some flying from the rocks, some 

 resting along the margin of the water, upon shelves 

 or projecting crags, while by far the greater number 

 were sitting upon their eggs. Such was the ap- 

 pearance ot the place when the birds were not dis- 

 turbed, and they were by no means very excitable, 

 for unless after a shot, none stirred on our account, 

 however close the boat came. It was not uncommon 

 to see them ranged in a line extending several yards 

 along a fissure, and this formed a very interesting 

 spectacle, especially when their white breasts ap- 

 peared ; for, excepting the gulls, these birds stand 

 nearly erect. 



Towards the end of summer the species which 

 occur in these breeding-places begin to disperse, 

 their numbers becoming perceptibly diminished im- 

 mediately after the young have begun to fly ; and by 

 the middle of September they have entirely deserted 

 their suipmer residence, leaving it to its ordinary 

 inhabitants, the cormorants, and a few straggling 

 gulls. 



About the same period, the numerous species of 

 Sylvia?, Saxicolae, and other small birds, the swal- 

 lows, martins, land-rails, and all those whose ap- 

 pearance in spring afforded us delight as indicating 

 the approach of the sunny season, disappear from 

 the groves and fields. The robin has already arrived 

 in the gardens, the yellow-bunting, the linnet, and 



